2 days ago
Experts want study to stop Paroda flooding, Don Bosco's 2015 paper resurfaces
Margao:
Following the submergence of Paroda village on Thursday, which necessitated the diversion of traffic along the Margao-Quepem road through Chandor, engineering experts have renewed their call for a study to address the problem of annual flooding during the monsoon.
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The issue has once again highlighted the inadequacy of the flood-prevention measures undertaken by the PWD on the Paroda stretch of the road. Despite the PWD raising the vulnerable road stretch two years ago, the measure proved largely ineffective.
A decade-old academic study by the final-year civil engineering students from Don Bosco College of Engineering, Fatorda, has resurfaced as a potential roadmap for long-term flood management solutions.
The 2015 dissertation, titled 'Flood Management of Paroda Village', presents a scientifically backed study.
The project, supervised by assistant professor Satyesh Kakodkar, proposed a sophisticated flood-diversion system based on extensive topographic and hydrographic surveys of the Kushawati river.
The study's core recommendation involves constructing diversion headworks 1,123m upstream of the flood-prone Paroda-Avedem bridge, coupled with a 3,155m diversion canal designed to channel excess water away from the vulnerable area.
Particularly significant is the study's proposal for an offline storage pond system, which would temporarily store diverted floodwater in designated areas of the floodplain before releasing it back to the river or alternative watercourses.
This approach aims to avoid the submergence of surrounding inhabited areas while effectively managing peak discharge periods.
The Don Bosco study also identified solutions aimed at improving water flow capacity during heavy rain.
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These included strategic dredging of the river at Caurem — 200m of riverbed clearing to a depth of 0.3m, extending 100m upstream and downstream of the Caurem bridge.
Engineering experts who analysed the study pointed out that its observations remain strikingly relevant today. They have made a strong pitch for state govt to commission a flood management study.
They have suggested that either the PWD or the water resources department undertake this research directly or engage the civil engineering departments of Goa's engineering colleges.
'Such a commissioned study would build upon the foundational work already completed by the Don Bosco students, incorporating modern hydrological modelling techniques and climate change projections to develop robust, long-term solutions,' said a civil engineer specialising in hydraulic engineering.
